


professional

by softnsquishable



Category: Elton John (Musician), Rocketman (2019)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, Implied Mpreg, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Mpreg, Past Abuse, Verbal Abuse, because it's all angst, get your tissues and put on your sad songs, no happy ending for this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:42:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22143529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softnsquishable/pseuds/softnsquishable
Summary: “If you’re going to be a professional musician, Elton, you best start acting like it.”or, a lot of angst that came out one day that felt good enough to share after some tweaking. more of a scene than a full story, but it has a beginning, middle and end. tw if emotional manipulation bothers you a lot.
Relationships: Elton John/John Reid
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	professional

Elton felt like a child again, sitting in silence as he waited to be scolded. If only it was something as simple as staying out too late, or breaking his glasses. It would be such a minimal consequence to go to bed without supper, or not be allowed to meet mates after school. Hell, he’d take a wrap from the belt at a moment like this. He probably deserved it too...but his apprehension grew as he heard footsteps approaching the door.

Elton didn’t look up from his cream colored boots as the door clicked open and shut. The momentary breeze of cold coming through the gap had sent a shiver through him, but more shudder-worthy was the air of the man who entered. Tall, dark and handsome, and so much more, he immediately came across as someone who was not to be crossed. He sat across from Elton, nothing but a few feet of open air above a coffee table between them. Then he waited.

Even as the man opposite settled into place, as seconds passed, not a word was spoken. He controlled the room, like an elder at a traditional table. Elton’s heart tapped nervously against his ribs as his accuser’s fingers rested together at the tip, his elbows perched on his thighs, just above his knees. As the tension built, his face stayed calm, composed, as while Elton’s forehead beaded with sweat behind his bangs. He was in trouble. Serious trouble. 

“So...how long were you going to hide this from me?”

His voice was even, not at all voluminous. If anything, it came across as quietly disappointed, and incredibly condescending. Elton truly felt he was shrinking; It was exactly the tone you’d expect from your dad after you’d done something truly shitty. Elton had seconds to try and make this work. He didn’t let a beat pass before he began speaking his piece. 

“John, I’m so, so sorry,” Elton told him sincerely. No matter how many times he’d gone over it in his head, he knew he was still unprepared, but speaking it to a mirror and then speaking it to such an intimidating presence as Reid were such different things, it almost hadn’t been worth the time spent. 

“I didn’t mean to,” he continued in earnest, “I-I was scared, I’m still scared, this-this is a huge thing for me, for us. I didn’t want to muck things up between us, and I know that not telling you wasn’t a good decision, but I was just trying to work out how to break the news. I mean, it’s not the worst news, but it’s pretty life changing, and with the tour coming up-”

Reid cut him off mid-sentence by grabbing his shirt, pulling him into a kiss over the coffee table. Elton was shocked, but kissed back, closing his eyes. It was a hungry, demanding kiss, as Reid’s tended to be, and Elton gave all he was pressed for, as usual. Pulling back to breathe, a ghost of a smile flickered across Elton’s face. Maybe there was a chance...maybe it would be alright after all.

“I think it’s time we started acting a bit more...professional, don’t you?”

“Pro...Professionally?” Elton stuttered around the leftover taste in his mouth. The smile was gone, replaced with the shock and confusion of processing the twist that had just been thrust at him. “John-”

“Elton...I’m a professional,” Reid stated. “You are, first and foremost, my client. We have a contract, and we work together, different parts of a singular, money-making machine. And...well, to be perfectly honest, you’re quite a... a small part in it all, especially compared to myself. And then this?” He poked a not too gentle finger at Elton’s belly. “This...thing...this is miniscule, nearly insignificant. Such a small part of another small part...it’s not worth my time and effort, hardly worth yours.”

Elton was speechless. A protective hand slid to his stomach, where the accusing pressure had just been. He gaped at John as he stood up, strolling across the floor to gaze out the stately office windows.The horrible silence hung between them again as John’s hands clasped behind his back. 

“Music is a cut throat business, Elton,” he explained. “You have to stay atop your game. Taking a break, at a time like this...it’s not a very good idea, Elton, not if you wanna keep your position, keep on the rise...keep earning a living.”

“John, the baby’s coming in five months,” Elton finally spoke. “I can’t fly across the ocean when I’m about to burst. It’s not safe for me or for them.”

“Then I suppose you shouldn’t have gotten pregnant, should ya have?” Reid replied nonchalantly. 

“It takes to to get pregnant,” Elton snapped, now standing up to face Reid’s back. “This baby is as much yours as it is mine. How’s that gonna look for your business? How’s it gonna look for you, fucking your client, getting him up the duff?”

“...oh, no. I’d never do anything like that.”

“You already...already have…” 

Elton’s speech faltered and became much quieter at the tone of Reid’s voice. He swallowed thickly as Reid turned back to him, the cruel and steely gaze meeting his eyes again. Reid still didn’t look angry, but solemn, and deadly sure of himself. He was almost fighting a smugness about himself. Dread pooled in Elton’s gut as his heart rate picked up again. Shit. 

“No...I don’t think so,” John said smoothly, as he adjusted the cuff of his sleeve “I’m afraid I’m a bit too much of a professional to take part in that sort of debauchery. Least of all with a client...a fag.”

John was right in front of Elton now, close enough to pull him into another kiss. He smiled smugly down at the stunned singer, putting a finger under his chin. 

“I can’t imagine the poor bastard that might’ve been stuck with you, especially over a snotty little brat. God help us all if it’s any bit as insufferable as the miserable fairy that carried it into a world it didn’t ask for. I’d be surprised if it didn’t resent you more than life itself for bringing it into the world fatherless, disgraced...I hope it never sees the headlines.”

Elton’s heart was breaking, bit by bit. His lips were parted in shock as his face was taken in one of Reid’s large, strong hands, gripping his jaw and cheeks too tightly. It was almost enough to draw a soft sound from him, but he didn’t dare. He could just picture the small, round bruises that might be shaping beneath Reid’s fingertips. 

“Oh, and...I’m sure you’re gonna be grinning and bearing it too, sweetheart,” he added, tilting his head. “I mean...I wouldn’t want that baby to grow up out of house and home with a washed up singer of a mum that can never show his face in this business again. No, it’ll be your absolute pleasure to keep muddling through this state you’re in till you shit the little darling out, then toss its fat face to a wet nurse and get your ass back to work.”

Reid released his grip on Elton, but it didn’t mean a thing. Elton was couldn’t speak a word. Even without physical restraint, Elton could no longer resist. He’d broken; Reid had one. He knew it, too, near smirking at Elton as he adjusted his tie. 

“If you’re going to be a professional musician, Elton, you best start acting like it.”

Elton was motionless Reid walked around him. The door opening and shutting was the only sound. The tone and temperature in the room had gone completely cold, the only warmth of tension now dissipated in defeat. Reid’s frigid nature had pierced the very essence of the stately room, so it retained its harsh, elegant cold even without his controlling presence. 

Moments later, the initial shock wore off. It was only then that Elton realized he’d had tears streaming freely down his face since the end the conversation. Suddenly remembering to breathe, he gasped in a few hiccuping breaths before crumpling to the ground, landing with a wobbly thud on his bum. 

Elton pulled his knees up to his chest, shaking hard and breathing irregularly as sobs escaped him, nearly violent enough to make him sick. His hands covered his face as he slightly rocked with his heels, choking out the word ‘no’ between the cries and the breaths. It wasn’t good for the baby to stress out, he kept thinking, but he couldn’t stop himself. He was having a full panic attack, almost a full mental breakdown. He hadn’t been loved...he had been lied to and used, and now he was screwed.

Elton half composed himself, just enough to try and catch his breath. His hand went back to his belly, the other arm going around it protectively too. Elton couldn’t let something happen to them...no matter what it cost, he had to be able to provide. If he was playing a show the day after he delivered, so be it. As long as his little bubba could live, as long as they had a fair chance, he could do anything. 

“I’m so sorry, my love,” he sniffed, “You didn’t ask for all this. You didn’t need to be brought into all this trouble. I wish I could make things better for you, but...I promise you, I’m gonna do anything and everything to keep you safe and happy. I love you so much, baby...no matter what happens, no matter what it takes.”

Elton looked up at the gold records above the desk against the wall. He wiped his eyes, pushing his thick glasses out of the way. They were like trophies for Reid, prizes that he'd one. Maybe if he tried harder, maybe if he pushed, then he might be the one collecting records and royalties, not having to worry about answering to someone and lining other people's pockets for treating him so cruelly. Maybe...just maybe...someday, he'd be good enough for John Reid. Maybe someday, he'd be good enough to be loved.

He just needed to be a bit more...professional.

**Author's Note:**

> a bit darker than i usually go, but hopefully this wasn't too heavy. it was a different take, trying out more of a villain character without a promising or happy ending.
> 
> comments mean a lot. would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.


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